Schools should be places where children feel safe to learn, grow, and dream—not places where fear follows them into the classroom.
There are sounds that belong in schools, the early morning Lupang Hinirang, the nervousness students face when introducing themselves on the first day, the ringing of bells during school breaks. Most of us went through that.
But then there are sounds that should never find their way through school gates.
Gunshots. Screams.
For many Filipino students, not even a month in when the school year started, multiple incidents have already taken place. Reports of school shootings and multiple stabbing incidents, each incident does not stand alone, together, they signal an urgency we can no longer ignore (and should not have ignored), as classrooms once meant for learning are now being interrupted by fear.
